Woman's march (The Activists of 8th Room) - 8호 감방의 노래 (대한이 살았다)

An Jung-geun, Kim Gu, and Yun Bong-gil are all famous Korean independence activists who devoured their full efforts for the independence of Korea from Japan during the Japanese occupation period, at the same time they are the names that you will receive the most if you ask any Koreans for names of independence activists. It is definitely a confirmed truth that they are respectable figures from the Korean Independence Act, nevertheless, numerous hidden figures under their shade should be respected and honored for their brave and remarkable actions. In this article, I will talk about 7 woman independence activists who left a precious piece of history during their imprisonment in Seodaemun Prison.

Ryu Gwan-sun, Shim Yeong-sik, Uh Yoon-hee, Kwon Aeh-la, Shin Kwan-bin, Im Myeong-aeh, and Kim Hyang-hwa are the seven woman activists, aged between 10 to 30, who were imprisoned in the 8th room of Seodaemun Prison for the crime of independence movement. Most people, even Koreans, are only familiar with Ryu Gwan-sun who was one of the most famous figures of the  March First Movement in 1919. In contrast, the other 6 activists were irreplaceably imprinted on the history of the Korean independence movement.

Ryu Gwan-sun is one of the most well-known Korean woman activists who led the 1919 March First Movement to peacefully shout people’s will to be independent of Japanese occupation. She was only a freshman at Ewha Woman’s School (16 years old) when she led the March First Movement. Imprisoned after the movement, she was harshly tortured by the Japanese Kenpei in prison and died on September 28th, 1920 at the age of 17. One of the famous quotes of Ryu Gwan-sun is “The only sorrow of me is that I have only one life to dedicate to the country,” which well depicts the love of Ryu Gwan-sun to Korea and the desire for Korean Independence.

Shim Yeong-sik was also part of the Mansae Movement to call out the independence of Korea in front of the Holston Girls’ School, alma mater of her, leading the whole crowd. She was arrested during the Mansae Movement on March 3rd, 1919, by Japanese Police. She got visual impairment during her teenage years, but still actively participated in the movement for independence. As the police who arrested her asked her for a reason for participating even with blind eyes, she responded with a firm desire for independence: “Even if I were blind, would my heart also be distant? Even though I may be blind, I have not lost the desire for my country's independence.”

Uh Yoon-hee studied at the Mary Helm School and became a missionary after her graduation, traveling all across Korea to educate people about the Methodist Church and will for independence. She received 2000 copies of the March 1st Independence Declaration from neighbors and also participated in the movement by spreading the copy around the school and town. Students from near the Holston Girls’ School, including Shim Yeong-sik, joined her later which became the Mansae Movement in Kaesong. Even after she was imprisoned in the Seodaemun Prison, she continued to shout Mansae to deliver people’s desire for independence.

Kwon Aeh-la was a teacher in the Kindergarten at Kaesong’s Holston Girls’ School when she first knew that the March 1st Independence Declaration reached Kaesong but was hidden in the coal mine due to procrastination in spreading the movement of declaration among people who received it from minister Oh Hwa-young. As soon as she knew that, she directly headed to the coal mine to collect all the Declaration copies and spread them with Uh Yoon-hee.

Shin Kwan-bin was one of the women who participated in the March 1st Independence Declaration spreading movement with Uh Yoon-hee in Kaesong. On March 1st, 1919, she gave copies of the Declaration to the citizens passing by at around 2 p.m. and got imprisoned on April 11th due to violation of the National Security Act.

Im Myeong-aeh participated in the Mansae Movement with her husband, even though she was in the later stages of pregnancy. In Paju-si of Korea, she leads the Mansae movement twice on March 10th and March 26th of 1919, marching towards the town hall with a crowd of seven hundred citizens. When she was imprisoned, she was at pregnancy full term, so she was bailed in October for her delivery and once again imprisoned the following November. She continued the protest inside the prison with other independence activists by secretly communication and shouting ‘Mansae’ at the same time all together.

Kim Hyang-hwa was a gisaeng who became the most popular entertainer at one of the restaurants in Suwon, Korea. She was the lead at the Suwon Gisaeng Association, which allowed her to easily reach out to other Gisaeng in that region to launch a movement for Korea’s independence. The Japanese Police accused her to the Japanese Government-General of Korea, which caused her to be imprisoned in the Seodaemun prison as a leader of the Gisaeng independence movement.

These seven courageous Korean Independence activists made a song during their incarceration to spread their desire for Korean independence and wish for an optimistic future for Korea to escape from Japanese occupation. Unfortunately, after going through generations of occupation and war, only the lyrics of this song are accessible with the melody completely forgotten. A lot of artists from Korea, including Ahn Ye-eun and Lena Park, added the melody to the lyrics in their own style to remember their triumph. The title of the song is 대한이 살았다 (“The Republic of Korea lives”) which reflects the passionate, patriotic heart of activists longing for the survival and independence of their mother nation during the time of hardship and oppression.

“When the seven men in mud-colored work clothes

Kneel down and sit, praying to the Lord,

When two plates of rice and beans are thrown through the window,

They prayed with tears of blood, they prayed with tears of blood,

They prayed with tears of blood.

The Republic of Korea lives, the Republic of Korea lives,

The mountains and rivers stir, and the seas boil.

Eh-hey, de-hey, eh-hey, de-hey,

The Republic of Korea lives, the Republic of Korea lives.”

– 대한이 살았다 (“The Republic of Korea lives”) –

Works cited

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